Pirate Radio Operator Arraigned in Croton-On-Hudson, NY

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, December 12, 2018

FCC

The FCC's Enforcement Bureau and the Westchester County District Attorney's Office have announced details of a joint investigation resulting in the arrest of and arraignment of a pirate radio operator in Croton-On-Hudson, NY. FCC field agents traced the illegal broadcasts and located the operator, Richard Dominguez, and worked with the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, which seized Dominguez's radio equipment and arrested him. The investigation led to Dominguez's arraignment Wednesday on a charge of unauthorized radio transmission.

"Pirate radio operations interfere with licensed broadcasting -- including public safety messages," said Enforcement Bureau Chief Rosemary Harold. "It is vital that we combat this problem aggressively, and partnerships like this make that possible. I'm proud of the work of our FCC team and thank Westchester County prosecutors for their commitment to combatting illegal broadcasting."

Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. added, "We are proud to work with our federal partners to root out criminals wherever they are breaking the law in our community. The prosecution of this pirate radio broadcast is a unique collaboration between the Federal Communications Commission and our Investigations Division High Technology Crimes Bureau. No matter what kind of crime is committed here in Westchester, we will prosecute the defendants to the fullest."

In this joint investigation, Enforcement Bureau's field agents investigated a complaint of a pirate radio signal broadcasting on 98.5 FM in Croton-On-Hudson in Westchester County. The pirate station was operated by Dominguez under the name "La Mojada FM." The Commission shared the information with the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, which seized the illegal pirate radio station equipment and arrested its operator.

Federal law generally prohibits the operation of a broadcast radio or TV station without a license issued by the Commission. Congress enacted this requirement nearly a century ago as a means of managing interference to ensure functioning communications.